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Monday, 5 August 2013

Day 217 - Drowning in culture... and rain!

Well today was interesting, I have now experienced new levels of getting wet in a rainstorm (even worse than a walk with Kingy) due to being out at sea in one. But still it was a mainly good day.

We got up early to head up to Holy Island just south of Berwick, since it is only accessible via a causeway we wanted to make sure we had plenty of time for exploring before heading down to seahouses and out to the farne islands.

I love Holy Island, it really is as tranquil as it sounds (the bad weather helps, otherwise I can imagine it would have been crawling with tourists), even with a 7 year old wittering on all morning, I was still able to enjoy the tranquility. Ahhh who am I kidding, she shattered the peace and quiet within seconds of arriving. Still we went for a walk up to the Castle and as National Trust members we went inside. As with most National Trust properties (Or English Heritage for that matter) I would have been disappointed to have paid the entrance fee for what it was like. Its a very nice little castle, which was transformed into a holiday home in the early 20th century. And it is in this theme that they have kept the castle. Its quite interesting and some of the vistas are brilliant, even on a rainy day.

The typical photo of Lindisfarne Castle

A more Paul style view involving clambering over slippery rocks...

Still the rain wasn't too bad and we headed back to the car to get across to the mainland and head down to Seahouses, where it was still raining. But we decided to brave the boat trip to the Farnes.

Erin has long wanted to visit the Farnes but after today I think she will be in no rush to return. The crossing was lets say choppy, and the rain got heavier the instant I paid for the tickets, and continued to get heavier as we crossed, by the time we got to the islands and started looking at the wildlife we would have been excused for thinking the boat was actually a cabriolet submarine. But still we got to see some seals playing in the sea, and some young puffins flying and what can only be described as bellyflopping into the sea. By the time we left the islands we both looked more than a little green due to the choppy sea. Thankfully we made it back to land in one piece and headed home.